perciform

any member of the order Perciformes, a group of bony fishes with more than 6,000 species placed in about 150 families. The order is the largest group of fishes in the world today. Perciform fishes occur in abundance in both marine and freshwater areas of the world, ranging from shallow freshwater ponds to depths of more than 2,300 metres (7,500 feet) in the oceans. Most perciforms are marine fishes, generally found along coastal areas of tropical and temperate regions of the world